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Department of

Languages and Literatures

The Placement Exams

(for USD Students only)

  • The placement exam is free.

  • Enrollment for fall 2009 requires completion of the exam midnight on 9/13. The exams will go offline until 9/28, one week before registration for intersession 2010 begins.

  • Take the placement exam early to secure your seat in the correct class. Correct and early placement will save students the trouble of having to make class changes during the very hectic first week of school and will ensure the student a spot in one of the sections for the assigned course.

  • Students who enroll in language classes after the beginning of the semester may see their grades suffer due to the strict attendance policies in effect for language classes. It pays to know where you belong before enrolling.

  • Students who have obtained a Waiver of Placement DO NOT take the placement exam.

  • The exam is a diagnostic tool designed to obtain a measure of a student's abilities in the language he or she wants to study. What does this mean? It is not an "achievement" exam. We do not want students to prepare for it. For this reason,we do not provide sample tests or study guides.

  • We require each student to perform at the best of his or her ability without using dictionaries, grammar aids, friends and relatives, or any other sort of assistance and an electronic or handwritten signature declaring that he or she has observed these rules.

  • The exam begins with a "Language Background" survey. This is an integral component of the placement process and information obtained from this survey is essential to establish the right placement of each student. Incomplete or contradictory surveys may significantly delay placement results. Students are, therefore, strongly encouraged to provide complete and reliable information regarding their language background.

  • This exam is unrelated to the Language Competency Exam. It does not contribute in any way to "testing out" of the Core Curriculum requirement in language (previously known as General Education language requirement).

  • Students: Placement exams are evaluated on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays early in the morning. Watch your e-mail on these days for your official placement. If you have been given an optional placement, follow the instructions in the e-mail.

    While Dr. Rubio-Fernaz uploads placement results to Banner, it is the sole responsibility of IT to post them to the DARS. This is done each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (except when the university is closed for a holiday).

    The department does not allow anyone to enroll in a closed class, so it is important that you enroll as quickly as possible.

  • Advisors/preceptors: Placement results are uploaded to the server early in the morning on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. A member of the IT staff posts them to DARS later those days.

    • The Banner system is only able to track primary placements, therefore, if a student wants to exercise an optional placement (if one is offered), the system will block her/him as not having met the prerequisite.

    These students have been advised to notify Dr. Rubio-Fernaz (santiago@sandiego.edu) that they wish to take the optional class so that he can authorize the change. The updated record will not appear on the DARS until the next time the IT staff posts it.

    If this is an impediment to completing a student's schedule (especially when the language class is nearly full), s/he may file an Add/Drop form with Dr. Rubio-Fernaz. Local students then take it to the One Stop Center. For the summer/interession only, we will forward the forms of out-of-area students to the One Stop Center.

  • For Chinese, Greek, and Japanese, the placement exam is available only in written form. Students who need to take the exam for any of these languages must make an appointment with the Director of Placement well in advance of the add/drop deadline for their courses.

  • For French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish, the placement exam is available online only. To be able to take the test, students need to know their USD Student ID number and have an active email address.

  • To take the exam now, click on the language.